My Story: From Internal Auditor to Graphic designer
Better late than never!
“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be.” — Abraham Maslow
Graphic design is my second career. After completing a business degree in Finance I landed a government Internal Audit job, which I did not really plan for but somehow it happened. I was more hoping to get into the world of investments and stocks. I only tasted that dream for two years working; a stint processing certificates and interest payments for government stocks and bonds in my home country. I loved that job but felt conned into leaving it to go back into auditing, thinking I would learn more about the roots of business—I did. At the time, it felt like the worst decision in my life. I hated auditing; it felt fake and meaningless and it did not help that ‘helping’ people did not make them even put a smile on their face. However auditing helped me to be more logical in my approach to planning, organizing and implementing and it pushed me to really go for my passion.
Graphic design! Are you crazy? Isn’t that only for people drawing from birth with blue hair and tattoos? Isn’t that field saturated? Nooo! No. Not really.
Note:
- I am not crazy. I believe in taking calculated risks.
- I felt I could draw but did not take art since 9th grade. Did I mention my A in my Illustration course after going to school to become a graphic designer and my 4.0 GPA overall?
- I believe it is the best time to become a designer. Haven’t you noticed? Graphic Design is everywhere! Businesses appreciate design and branding more than ever before. Find your niche.
To make the transition, in 2011,I focused my Masters of Business Administration dissertation on the art of branding and how to create a competitive advantage using visual communication. Then before even finishing that I went to school to pursue a Diploma in Graphic Design, and to top it all off started working before my final semester started (not ended).
I am a now full time in-house graphic designer at a not-for-profit organization. I do take on projects from time to time. If I can do it so can you! Pursue graphic design today.